Tag: book review

Reviews trip algorithms in online bookstores, reviews open up advertising options. More reviews get your favorite authors in front of more readers. More readers actually do lead to more books being written.

But you don’t like to write book reports and aren’t comfortable putting out a review of that level.

But the authors keep asking for reviews.

And you like the authors and you want to help.

What do you?

Thats easy, you write a simple review. Authors don’t need those big elaborate reviews that include a synopsis, an analysis, and then an opinion.

So here are some easy to answer questions that will help you to write a simple review:

Did you like the book? Yes? Fantastic keep going!

Why? What about the story kept you reading? Was it the characters, the location, the use of language, the hot romantic scenes, the lack of romantic scenes, the adventure, the intrigue….

Anything in particular really stands out? Plot twist you didn’t see coming, the character had a flaw and you really could relate to how they overcame it. You laughed out loud. You sobbed and dripped tears on the page.

Did you binge read the book and lose sleep?

And, lastly, would you recommend it?

You don’t need to worry about providing a brief spoiler-free overview. You don’t need to worry about analyzing the symbolism and pointing out any instances of foreshadowing. Just let us know you liked it.

Now what to do if you didn’t like the book.

At this point, most authors are going to say don’t leave a review. While that is an option, sometimes the book is so bad you feel the need to warn others off. Fair enough, but remember if you need to do that, do not level a personal attack on the author. That’s just rude and unnecessary.

What about the story bothered you? Were there overwhelming themes or storylines that you don’t like to read you were unaware were in this book? Was the storyline difficult to follow? Try to be specific in your reasoning for not liking the story. If you didn’t like the characters share that.

Make sure you are clear about the type of book you are reading. It doesn’t help anyone to complain about a relationship in the middle of your adventure if you are reading a romance novel. Or to complain about the violence in a war action novel.

Reviews don’t have to be complex. They really aren’t difficult or intimidating. And authors appreciate them more than you know.